Park Lawn announces going private transaction
Torys acted as counsel to Homesteaders with a team led by Kevin Morris and John Emanoilidis and including Adam Ibrahim, Max Ledger, Madeleine Beaudry (corporate/securities), Dany Assaf and Ian Li (competition), Tom Stevenson and Parker Baglole (employment), Tyson Dyck (environmental), Andy Gibbons (real estate), Ed Fan (IP), Molly Reynolds (privacy), Jerald Wortsman and Gwen Watson (tax).
On June 3, 2024, Park Lawn Corporation ("Park Lawn") announced that it entered into an arrangement agreement with Viridian Acquisition Inc. ("Viridian"), an affiliate of Homesteaders Life Company ("Homesteaders") and Birch Hill Equity Partners Management Inc. ("Birch Hill" and together with Homesteaders, the "Purchaser Group"), pursuant to which the Purchaser will acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Park Lawn for a price of C$26.50 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately C$1.2 billion, including Park Lawn's net debt.
The transaction will be implemented by way of a statutory plan of arrangement under section 182 of the Business Corporations Act (Ontario).
Park Lawn’s board of directors has unanimously determined that the transaction is in the best interests of Park Lawn and unanimously recommends that shareholders vote in favour of the transaction at the meeting to decide on the transaction expected to be held on or about July 29, 2024.
Birch Hill and Homesteaders have provided an equity commitment letter to Viridian, committing to provide funding for the transaction, as well as a limited guarantee in favour of Park Lawn in respect of the reverse termination fee, the regulatory termination fee, as well as certain expense reimbursement, indemnification and enforcement obligations contemplated in the arrangement agreement.
It is anticipated that the transaction will be completed in August 2024, subject to the satisfaction of all conditions to closing set out in the arrangement agreement.
Further information can be found on Accesswire’s website.
Park Lawn is the largest publicly traded Canadian-owned funeral, cremation and cemetery provider. It and its subsidiaries own and operate businesses including cemeteries, crematoria, funeral homes, chapels and event centers in three Canadian provinces and seventeen U.S. states, providing a full range of services and merchandise to fulfill the desires of individuals and families seeking to honor their loved ones.
Homesteaders Life Company, a mutual insurance company based in West Des Moines, Iowa, is a national leader providing products and services to promote and support the funding of advance funeral planning and end-of-life expenses.
Birch Hill is a Canadian mid-market private equity firm with over C$5 billion in capital under management.